Michael Cohen, in Recorded Phone Call, Walks Back Parts of Guilty Plea

Trump’s former lawyer, set to go to prison in weeks, told actor Tom Arnold he wasn’t guilty of some crimes he pleaded guilty to

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, in a recorded phone call with comedian Tom Arnold, denied responsibility for some crimes he pleaded guilty to last August, including tax evasion. “It’s a lie,” he said. He also shared criticism of President Trump. Photo: Tom Arnold

Michael Cohen has disavowed responsibility for some of the crimes to which he has pleaded guilty, privately contending in a recent recorded phone call that he hadn’t evaded taxes and that a criminal charge related to his home-equity line of credit was “a lie.”

As he prepares to begin a three-year prison term on May 6, Mr. Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, expressed dismay during the conversation that after testifying for more than 100 hours to federal and congressional investigators about his work for Mr. Trump—including...